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The History of J Hissey’s Buckler Part III (CJK 132)

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The second set of races were often more fun as one found oneself dicing with some unusual bedfellows. I remember once such battle I had with a Mk.VII Jaguar which was a large 3.8 litre saloon. He would rush away down the straights reaching perhaps 100+ mph to my, perhaps 80, only to loose the lot at Woodcote corner where I would always take him before the chicane as he wallowed all over the place. He would soon come by again and so it continued.


I have a letter from my great friend, Arthur Toplis, who navigated for me in all the major rallies. He was at Goodwood for the races of March 1956. He did some timings for me in one race which were as follows:-

Lap Time Speed

2 2 14.1 64.43

3 2 14.5 64.24

4 2 13.7 64.62

5 2 13.7 64.62

Clearly I must have been on my own with nobody to get in the way or to slipstream down the straights but even then the times show remarkable consistency. The highest speedometer reading was a shade over 80 which may of course not have been accurate but could not be too far out in view of the lap times. My body was about as aerodynamic as a brick so was not really suitable for racing.

Although it was quite fun, it got a little boring as it was clear that to get anywhere near the front I would have to find the money for a Lotus or similar car which would not be of use for anything else. No amount of driving skill would get any sensible road car to do more than four laps to their five. My car was for rallies.


The London Motor Club laid on a very good annual rally each September which Arthur and I first entered in 1955 and its fame must have spread as it attracted no less than 375 entries. The part that mattered were the Welsh timed sections which were done in three loops at night and each third of competitors did the loops in a different order so there was no crowding even when starting at a minute intervals. Furthermore paper 1inch Ordinance Survey maps were issued at the start with each checkpoint clearly marked (I still have them) so there was ample time to work out the route. At some checkpoints the road book was simply stamped at others the time was noted. Each minute down on time was a point lost and could not be made up. The three loops were roughly 70 miles each with an average speed set at 30mph throughout. This doesn’t sound much but at several places there were tiny wiggly lanes with time checks at each end only 3 miles apart and several road junctions in between to chose from. We were 1 hour 59 minutes down, mostly through getting lost, over the 210 miles and made 56th place and came well up in our class whilst the winner lost 33 minutes. The next morning whilst the organisers were working out the results we were sent over an easy mountain stage with magnificent scenery as you can see from the photos. We did it again in 1956 and made 20th overall out of 283 and winning our class by a huge margin.

 

The morning after. The road is more to the Buckler’s liking and the views were magnificent

Map reading was very difficult in the tangle of small lanes and we frequently met cars coming the other way and once found ourselves in a field full of other cars trying to find a way out. The unfenced road went through it but there were so many tracks that it was not clear which led to the exit. On another occasion both Arthur and I clearly saw a steam train throwing out sparks and towing a couple of well lit carriages yet the map did not show a railway for many miles around and we were not lost!


 

The London Rally in the Welsh mountains The Rally of the Dams October 1955

Other rallies we did we the Sheffield & Hallamshire Motor Club’s Rally of the Dams which was also fun and the Birmingham Post Rally in April 1956. Both were well run and enjoyable and I expect we must have won something as I have a number of cups with no markings. It was on one of these events that Arthur said "straight on at the crossroads" and I was arriving fast at what appeared to be a T junction although there appeared to be a track ahead but through a small gate. It was too late to do anything about braking hard on the wet road so I shot through the gate down the track which was muddy and bumpy causing the car to leap into the air. The crossroads turned out to be slightly staggered and we had chosen a muddy footpath! On reversing we found the gap too narrow for the car. We only got out by taking the gate off it’s hinges. We had no idea how we managed to get through it unscathed in the first place!



 

More photos from the Rally of the Dams 1955 Note the hood going up when it gets wet!



 

The Birmingham Post Rally April 1956 The start of the Cat’s Eyes February 1956

Another excellent rally was the Cat’s Eyes run by the Thames Estuary Auto Club which, as it was round the very minor roads of Kent or Essex, Arthur commented that it was both local and good. It was nearly always icy, foggy or both and we discovered that these counties contained many narrow lanes almost equalling Wales. It was on this rally that Arthur warned me of a T junction ahead as I breasted a crest only to find the road suddenly plunged down sharply and on the ice and snow I had no method of stopping before the hedge that appeared across our way in my headlights. I put the Buckler sideways and it just fitted, but then I couldn’t see what we were trying to miss! After a bit of sliding I flicked it straight again to see the hedge closer but our speed was less. I twisted the car the other way and wished I had lights looking sideways, and when we straightened up again the hedge was almost upon us and as we turned we slid gently into it with our wheels bouncing off the bank. A shower of snow came in through the side screen all over Arthur’s map which drew the comment "You’ll have to do better than that. We are two minutes down".


 
Side-screens up as it begins to snow Halfway round the Cat’s Eyes Feb 1956

It will be seen from these photos that the top half of the radiator was blanked off as, having no thermostat, the engine could be overcooled in winter. We made a heater by leading a tube from the radiator to our feet with a fan at the end. Hooded, side-screened and wearing flying suits we did keep quite warm with the engine in front but the added hot blow did help.

 

London Rally start 1956 and at a checkpoint (ready for the "Concours"!)

By 1957 it was becoming clear that although the Buckler did very well in it’s time, that time was passing and sidevalvers just did not have the power and three speeds were not enough. I suppose I ought to add that having become engaged in the summer, the opinion of the lady in question as to the comfort provided was perhaps of considerable moment! Besides I had been made a good offer for the Buckler. I regret to say the new owner pranged the car within a few weeks and the last I heard of it was the next owner who bought the bits and wanted to know how they went together again!

 

Cups won driving the Buckler. The Turner starting the 1957 London Rally


I must still have had the building bug as my next car was a Turner based on the BMC 950 OHV engine & four speed gearbox with the parts, including plastic body, supplied and all that was needed was to paint the finished article in the colour of ones choice, or that is what was said. In many ways it was more difficult than the Buckler as not all fitted and there was limited freedom to use ones own ideas. Arthur and I did two more London rallies in it and although we finished well, it was clearly not suited to the conditions if only because of the care needed not to damage the all enveloping body. An office car came with my new job at Maidstone so my wife used the Turner as her personal transport for a couple of years and, when the family began to arrive, I passed it on to my sister and it gave her good service for a long time.

I am now down to a caravan towing 2 litre Rover diesel and spend most of my time on motorways. I hardly ever lift the bonnet nor do I know what half the bits inside do anyway. I often think of the fun I had of building my own car, of how it coped with some of the worst roads to be found anywhere and how well it did in competitions abroad and at home. The Buckler was a tough car with excellent reliability and roadholding to match the best about at the time. It was a credit to the designer and perhaps a bit to the builder too!